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Jacksonian Democracy
1828-1840
Democratizing Politics
The difference between Jeffersonian democracy and Jacksonian
democracy was one of attitude.
Jefferson believed that the average citizen could be educated to determine
right
Jackson believed that the ordinary man instinctively knew what was
right.
America was becoming more democratic, the new western states
eliminated property qualifications for voting.
In general most states started to drop property qualifications. Rhode
Island was the last to change its constitution after the abortive Dorr
Rebellion that protested the state’s requirement that voters
(men) posses at least $134 worth of real property More offices were
elective rather than appointed.
Free public schools gained wide-spread support, adult education and
secondary education indicate interest in improving knowledge.
Office holders begin to call themselves Representatives.
1828: The New Party System in Embryo
During the campaign of 1828, Jackson avoided taking a
stand on the issues of the day and relied on his military
reputation and Adams talent for making enemies
The Campaign 1828 was characterized by character
assassination, mud slinging, and lies of the worst sort
The great questions of the day were largely ignored
The public responded, each candidate received far more
votes than all four candidates had received in the
preceding presidential election.
Adams refused to attend the inauguration ceremonies
because Jackson had failed to pay the traditional preinaugural courtesy call.
The Jacksonian Appeal
Jackson portrayed himself as a
simple, common man from the
backcountry of America.
Jackson was the first man elected
from the West.
He was not from the eastern
aristocracy.
He was the first man elected who had
been born in a log cabin.
He was the founder of the Democratic
Party
For all that, Jackson was not a
common man.
He was a wealthy land speculator and
owned a fine plantation
He had opposed cheap money
The Jacksonian Appeal
But he did epitomize many American ideals
He was intensely patriotic
He was generous to a fault
He was natural and democratic in manner
He was a fighter, a relentless foe, and a gentleman in the best
American tradition
He had a reputation as a man of honor and had fought
numerous duels for honor.
He had fought in the Revolutionary War, several Indian Wars,
and won the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.
For these reasons Jackson drew support from every section and
every social class .
During his inaugural party he opened the White House to all his
supporters, many from the backcountry. In the following near
riot, Jackson nearly got killed and the White House was trashed.
He spent the next several months across the street in the Blair
The Spoils System
To the Victor go the Spoils
Jackson was determined to punish those office holders
who had attacked him and his wife during the campaign
Many of the men he removed from office were
incompetent or corrupt. Even Adams had to admit
many of the disposed men deserved their fate
He also felt that office holders should be rotated
periodically. In his words, no one was entitled to hold
an office
By rotating jobholders he felt that more citizens
could participate in the government
It also removed the danger of an entrenched
bureaucracy
A contemporary cartoon depicting the Spoils
System under President Jackson
President of All the People
President Andrew Jackson believed in exercising
authority directly.
Jackson did not rely on his cabinet for advise
Instead he formed an informal “kitchen cabinet” that
consisted of friends and Martin Van Buren, secretary of
state
Even his kitchen cabinet could only advise him,
Jackson in many cases did what he wanted.
Jackson favored Jefferson’s frugal approach to
government, he was penny pinching and had little
imagination.
Jackson’s popularity was mainly his personality
A contemporary
cartoon
depicting
Jackson’s
cabinet in flight
over the Peggy
Eaton Affair
Sectional Tensions Revived
Jackson tried to address problems that had
sectional significance
He tried to slightly reduce the tariff, which southerners
supported
He tried find a way to reduce the price of government
lands without forcing the government into the red
During a debate in the Senate on the public land issue,
the debate had been shifted to the issue of tariffs,
Senator Robert Hayne, of South Carolina, argued that
nullification actually strengthened the union.
Sectional Tensions Revived
Later, when confronted by
Daniel Webster, the South
Carolina, Robert Hayne, at
right, congressman
launched into a lengthy
speech applauding state’s
rights.
Webster replied in a speech
that made the state’s rights
position appear close to
treason. It was the finest
speech of Webster’s career.
It resolved nothing, but it
did define the political
battleground for the next
twenty years.
Hayne’s position was
supported by VicePresident John C. Calhoun,
also of South Carolina.
Jackson Versus Calhoun
Jackson stood firmly for the Union and would not even
tolerate talk of disunion.
Calhoun was a strong advocate of state’s rights, eventually
Calhoun would champion the cause of nullification
On most issues other than state’s rights both Calhoun and
Jackson were very much in agreement
Calhoun also wanted to be president and had only accepted
the post as Jackson’s vice-president because he believed
Jackson was in poor health.
There were several minor issues during Jackson’s
presidency that lead to a split of the two men
The Peggy Eaton affair
Jackson’s invasion of Florida in 1818
Though of little substance, these slights convinced Jackson
that Calhoun was not a man of honor.
The Nullification Crisis
The tariff law of 1832 lowered tariffs far less than the
planters of South Carolina wanted.
As a result, South Carolinians began to talk of
nullifying the law. Many South Carolinians cited John
Calhoun’s Exposition and Protest as the basis for the
argument on nullification
President Jackson took the exact opposite position.
In July 1832 he warned South Carolinians that if one
drop of blood was spilt over this issue he would go
down there (South Carolina) and hang the first nullifier
he found from the first tree he found.
The Nullification Crisis
On November 24, 1832 the South Carolina convention passed the
Ordinance of Nullification and prohibited the collection of taxes
The legislature then passed a bill to raise and equip an army
Jackson addressed the people of South Carolina on December 10,
1832 telling them that he would use armed force if need be to
enforce the law of the United States
He further stated that disunion by armed force was treason.
South Carolina’s radicals had counted on other states for support,
but this support did not materialize and they found themselves
facing Jackson’s wrath alone
The Radicals sobered at the thought of government troops and
backed off. Calhoun who had played a part in the episode was
some what embarrassed.
In the future South Carolina would ensure the support of other
states before it attempted nullification again.
The Bank . . . I Will Kill It
The main issue in the election of 1832 was the destruction of the
Bank of the United States
Jackson distrusted banks because they often
issued more banknotes than they had specie
(gold and silver) to back up their banknotes.
He distrusted the Bank of the United States
because it was a monopoly.
After McCulloch v. Maryland Langdon Cheves
had put the Bank of the United States on a sound
financial footing. Cheves had been replaced by
Nicolas Biddle, at right, who had managed the bank brilliantly.
Biddle managed the Bank of the United States as if
it were a central bank, regulating credit throughout the country
The Bank . . . I Will Kill It
Small banks often over extended themselves by making
large commercial loans, and issuing more paper
currency than they had specie to back up their paper.
Biddle was able to force smaller banks to make more
conservative loans by buying up large amounts of
banknotes and presenting them to the banks for
conversion back to specie.
In every field of economic activity, reckless lending had
caused inflation and greatly exaggerated the ups and
downs of the business cycle.
Biddle’s policies acted to stabilize the economy
Jackson’s Bank Veto
Prominent National Republicans wanted to use the
Bank as a tool against Jackson.
They reasoned that the Bank was too important to
the country and Jackson’s opposition would
undermine his popularity.
Knowing that Jackson would veto the bank, the
National Republicans urged Biddle to petition
Congress for a renew the Bank’s charter in 1832
instead of its official renewal date in 1836.
If Jackson vetoed the Bank charter it would provide
Henry Clay a lively campaign issue to beat Jackson
with.
Jackson’s Bank Veto
Biddle sensed this strategy would backfire and only
reluctantly agreed to early renewal
As expected, Congress approved the Bank’s charter
in July 1832.
Jackson promptly vetoed it.
Jackson’s arguments against the bank were mostly
absurd the utterings of an ignorant man, but it struck
a chord with many of his followers and he was
reelected
Tragically, Jackson could have reformed the bank
instead of destroying it.
Jackson then decided to withdraw Federal deposits
(gold and silver money) from the Bank and redeposit
the money in state banks.
Jackson’s Bank Veto
Before Jackson could execute his plan he had to get the
Secretary of the Treasury to actually withdraw the money,
under the law only the secretary of the treasure could do this.
Secretary Louis McLane refused to do so
Jackson promoted him and replaced him with William J. Duane.
William J. Duane refused to do what Jackson wanted
Jackson replace him with Attorney General Roger B. Taney,
who did what Jackson wanted.
Taney began to withdraw funds from the Bank and depositing
them into state banks, one of which was the Union Bank of
Baltimore, a bank which Taney had invested in.
To stop the withdrawals on the Bank, Biddle created an
artificial crisis by demanding payment on all bank notes held by
the Bank and refusing to loan money.
This action force the state banks to refuse to loan money
Jackson’s Bank Veto
Biddle hoped that people would blame Jackson for the
resulting shortage of credit and force him to rethink his
banking tactics
For a short time it worked, but Jackson refused to cave,
instead he sent the businessmen to Biddle.
As the pressure on Biddle mounted, he found that he
had bitten off more than he could chew.
In July of 1834, Biddle caved and he began to lend
money freely, the bank crisis was over.
Jackson had won.
Indian Removals
Jackson believed that the Indians were savages and incapable of
governing themselves.
In 1831 and 1832 the United States fought the Black Hawk War.
It was the last major resistance to the advancing white men in the
old North West. It was not much of a war and ended when Chief
Black Hawk was captured and brought to Washington D.C.
The capture of Chief Black Hawk not only ended the Black
Hawk War, but the remaining Indians in the North West fled,
most to Canada, opening the area to white settlement.
The Fate of the Five Great Southern Tribes
Between 1831 and 1833 he forced 15,000 Choctaws to migrate to
Oklahoma
The Cherokees on the other hand made major efforts to conform
to the white man’s standard, and formed their own state called
The Cherokee Nation
It did not matter, planters wanted their land
Indian Removals
Several treaties seemed to recognize the legality of their
government, but Georgia would not recognize the Cherokee
Nation
Court cases:
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia – Tribe was not a foreign nation and had a
right to sue in federal court
Worcester v. Georgia – Law of Georgia had no force within the
boundaries of Cherokee Territory
Jackson backed Georgia’s position and ruled that the Indians
must be removed
In 1838, the United States forced 15,000 Cherokee to leave
Georgia for Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.
Removal of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek,
and Chicksaw Indians in the 1830s
Boom and Bust
A mania to invest in property swept the country during
the 1830’s
Every lot in New York and Chicago was sold to
speculators
Jackson became alarmed at the rate of speculation and
in the summer of 1836 he issued the Specie Circular,
which required that federal land had to paid for in silver
or gold
This circular effectively ended the rush to buy land
As demand dropped off, so did prices
Speculators were unable to sell land at the prices which
they had paid, and had to default.
Banks foreclosed, but could not sell the land, so the
banks defaulted.
Jacksonianism Abroad
Jackson’s emotional and dogmatic style also
effected foreign affairs
By pushing relentlessly he was able to win
some victories
Opening British West Indies to American trade
But also lead to some failures
Pressing the French to pay damages incurred
during the Napoleonic wars
The Jacksonians
Jackson’s personality had a large impact on the
shape of American politics, his followers tried to
emulate him.
They were:
suspicious of special privilege and large business
corporation
They believed in freedom of opportunity unfettered by
government restrictions
They also believed in absolute political freedom
They also believed that any ordinary man could
perform the duties of most public offices
They championed public education and their motto was
“that government governs best which governs least
Rise of The Whigs
There was opposition to Jackson, but
it was disorganized
Henry Clay organized the National
Republican party, but it formed only a
nucleus for those who opposed
Jackson, no specific ideology
Jackson’s nickname amongst his
enemies was King Andrew I.
When his opponents organized they
took the name Whigs for their party
name.
This was because the opposition party
in England had been called the
Whigs.
Once Jackson was out of office, an
effective second party began to form
They became known as the Whigs
At Right “King Andrew the
First” Whig Cartoon.
Rise of The Whigs
Jackson’s anti-intellectual, and anti-science approach had
driven many intellectuals out of the Democratic party, they
went to the Whigs
One of the problems which faced the Whigs was that there
were too many leaders and not enough workers
The Whigs never were particularly well organized.
In the Election of 1836, William Henry Harrison was
supposed to win based only on his military record, but he
lost to the far better organized campaign of Martin Van
Buren.
The contenders in the election of 1836,
Martin Van Buren and William Henry
Harrison.
Martin Van Buren:
Jacksonianism Without Jackson
Martin Van Buren was a great political manipulator
as well as an accomplished statesman
However his manner of dealing with economic issue
left much to be desired
Van Buren took office just as the American credit
system collapsed
During the panic of 1837, beginning in May, banks in New
York stopped redeeming paper money for gold, soon all
banks suspended specie payments.
The panic deepened into the depression of 1839-1843
Van Buren aggravated the situation by following Jackson’s
hard money policies. He curtailed federal spending, and
opposed a national bank.
Martin Van Buren:
Jacksonianism Without Jackson
He did not see the government as cure to economic woes, he
felt that the people should shift for themselves
Instead of helping to strengthen the economy, Van Buren
sought an alternative to storing federal funds in state banks
He devised the Independent Treasury Act which kept the
government’s money in several regional treasury offices
rather than banks. Essentially, he created several government
owned vaults to store gold and silver.
Opponents pointed out that this would effectively take huge
quantities of specie out of circulation
Van Buren went forward with the scheme
Fortunately banks tended to be more careful about loans and
in 1849 gold was discovered in California, greatly adding to
the U.S. reserve of specie.
The Log Cabin Campaign
In the 1840 campaign, the Democrats nominated
President Martin Van Buren, though the financial
crises was a major factor against his re-election.
The Whigs were far better prepared for the 1840
election.
They ran William Henry Harrison for President and
John Tyler for Vice President
Whigs did not bother with a platform, just made the
most of Harrison and a plain man and a military hero.
The platform, if such it could be called was “log cabin
and hard cider.” Alluding to the common man and
temperance.
It worked, Harrison won 234 votes to 60.
William Henry Harrison
and his log cabin
campaign for president in
1840
The Two Party System Emerges
The Democrats had so successfully absorbed the Federalist
Ideas before that a true 2 party system never had emerged until
now.
The Democrats
a. Glorified the liberty of the individual
b. Clung to states rights and federal restraint in social and
economic affairs
c. Mostly more humble, poorer folk
The Whigs
a. Trumpeted natural harmony of society and the value of
2 party system
The Whigs
b. Berated leaders whose appeals and self-interest
fostered conflicts among Ind.
c. Favored a renewed national bank, protective
tariffs, internal improvements, public schools, and
moral reforms.
d. Mostly aristocratic and wealthier
Things in common
a. Based on the people—catch all phrases
b. Both commanded loyalty from all kinds of
people.
I I
I
Immigration
Innovation
Invention
1893 Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier
Thesis